The Cape is an American superhero drama television series, first shown on NBC during the 2010–2011 television season as a mid-season replacement. A two-hour pilot episode aired on Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 9 pm Eastern and Pacific Time, and was repeated the next day. Further episodes aired on Monday evenings at 9 pm from January 17. NBC reduced the number of episodes ordered from 13 to 10 due to low ratings. On March 2, 2011, NBC canceled the series after one season. It was also announced that the series finale would be shown only on the network's website. Plot The series, set in fictional Palm City, California, follows Vince Faraday, an honest detective who decides to leave the police force after he witnesses the murder of a new police chief by a mysterious villain known as Chess. Faraday accepts an offer to work for ARK, a private security firm owned and operated by billionaire entrepreneur Peter Fleming. ARK is petitioning Palm City to privatize the police and public safety operations. A video streamed to Faraday from an investigative blogger known only as Orwell leads him and partner, Marty Voyt, to a cargo train owned by Fleming's firm. They discover the train is smuggling implosive weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) inside children's toys. Voyt is corrupt and delivers Faraday to Chess, who reveals himself as Fleming. Fleming frames Faraday for the police chief's murder. In a news event staged by Fleming, Faraday is "revealed" as Chess as an ARK security team chases him along the city waterfront. A tanker explosion causes Faraday's apparent death. Faraday is abducted by The Carnival of Crime, a traveling circus turned bank robbery ring, who later accept him as one of their own. Their ring leader, Max Malini, trains Faraday in circuscraft and in the use of a special cape made entirely from spider silk. While there is nothing magical about the cape, Malini shows Faraday how a talented illusionist can use it to simulate superhuman abilities, and promises to show Faraday the 26 unique effects of the cape. Faraday agrees, and commits to grueling physical and mental training required to master the illusions. Additionally, Max convinces Faraday that using a secret identity keeps Faraday's wife and son safe. Faraday decides to fight Palm City's corruption and clear his name by adopting the visage of his son's favorite comic book hero, The Cape. In the